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In the UK it's pretty standard to learn in a manual. I currently have an automatic and honestly I don't want to go back. I like to think I'm a pretty good driver and gears were never an issue for me, but man is it nice to have one less thing to think about when driving.
Oh and I'm 39.
As a fellow UK-er, the only real criticism I've heard about automatics is that it can be difficult to pull off quickly from a standstill - Have you found that at all?
55M, Australia. I have a manual license, always drove a manual until my new-to-me car. I have osteo-arthritis and my knees hurt when I drive a lot, but I drive it like a manual with automatic clutch.
Here in Italy we only drive manual
Yeah man. Australia. Mid 40s. My nieces have just started learning (we start here at 16). When I asked whether they were going to learn manual they said what's that?
30, german, yes I can, no I do not. I drive a hybrid, so no manual transmission.
US, mid 30s, and nope. (I learned on a friend's car but didn't spend enough time for the muscle memory to build in, even way back then)
Yes (US, 35), and itβs something I can do autonomically in appropriate situations. I also enjoy being an integral part of my carβs operation.
And when youβre flogging it on a nice mountain road or a track, thereβs nothing quite like nailing that heel-and-toe downshift as youβre clipping the apex.
I drive an automatic but I learned with a manual and used it for years. I find manual impractical for daily use but I can use it if I need to.
32 years old, Italy
Yes. F, mid 50s, West Virginia.
My first 4 cars were standard. As is every motorcycle I have owned.
Learned on a farm truck when I was 13.
I learned how to but haven't been behind the wheel of a manual transmission car since the 90s.
In my family you couldn't get a drivers license until you know to drive any car and also the basics of maintenance. Other things I have't done since (roughly) the 90s: change my oil/coolant/brake/transmission, change various filters, replace pump seals, or replace hoses/belts. But I have to admit, its handy to know how to do all that.
Yes, only ever driven manuals. Wouldn't have the slightest idea how to drive an automatic though!
Southern Europe, 34. I only know how to drive with manual transmission (I tried an automatic city car once, and I literally couldn't exit the parking spot). I'm too used to control the car with the clutch. I should learn though, because I use car sharing services, and they are progressively replacing their cars with automatic transmission ones.
Yes, had to learn when I moved to Europe.
Yes. I'm from the USA and in my late twenties. I learned how to drive on an old Jeep Wrangler on a farm.
Yes. German. When I learned to drive, it was mandatory to do so on a stick.
No, but I also don't have a drivers license.
Does shifting on my bike count?
Midwest US, 48, and it's all I drive.
Yes. Mid 40s UK. I have never owned an automatic vehicle, and it looks like there's not much in the way options when it comes to electric cars with manual transmissions.
Well EVs only really have forwards and backwards. No additional gears.
EU and I most definitely can (that may not be surprising). But funnily enough, I bought my first car a few months ago (I drove family cars only before - all manuals) and that one is the volume knob automat. I wanted to stick with manual (pun intended), but my fiancee convinced me and I have to agree that there's a certain comfort in automat.
Canada, 36M, can and do.
Yep, I'm in Sweden, 30 and both know how to and do drive a manual car.
I learned manual on a car with a fucked up transmission.
Sweden, late 40's. Manual since I had my driving license (18). Driven automatic maybe 2-3 times in my life
Yes, California, late 30s. I drove a manual transmission when I was a teenager. I was proud of how practiced I got with it. I don't drive manual anymore, but my dad recently switched back after some decades driving automatic. He found out he's out of practice lol
My daily is an automatic but my old Magirus-Deutz is a special kind of manual. Iβm 37 from Germany.
Can drive manual, 30s, USA.
I had a particularly bad automatic transmission in my first car and went with a manual shortly after.
US late thirties
I can but haven't in few years. Never been great at it though.
US, 36, and I've only ever owned manual vehicles. I think I've drove automatic maybe 5 times in the past 20 years I've had my license.
Drove a manual for 15 years before I got a more family friendly car.
Yes, I even passed my driver's test in a manual while needing to do a 3 point turn on a hill. I am almost 30, born and raised in the suburbs of New York.
I haven't driven manual in years, ever since that car fell victim to black ice and a guard rail, but I have done recent test drives of manuals without stalling, so I guess it is something you never forget once you know how.
Yes. I'm from Wisconsin, USA and bought my first manual car (2018 Focus ST) in 2021. I'm 29 years old and was 27 when I bought the car.
I'm actually about to sell that car but replace it with another manual car. My other car is an (automatic) 2020 Supra.
Yes, but I don't because I've lived in Korea for the past twenty years, and you need a special license to drive manual here. I'm in my forties. From Canada.
Yes, 47, Georgia, USA. I've only ever bought manual transmission cars for my personal use. I just think they're neat!